UAE's new Indian passport centres launch with 2,000 applications on opening day

UAE's new Indian passport centres launch with 2,000 applications on opening day

Hundreds of Indian nationals queued at newly opened consular centres across the UAE on Wednesday as the country's overhauled passport and visa application system went live, marking the end of a months-long transition period marred by legal uncertainty.

The network of 16 Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs), operated by Al Hind Tours & Travels, processed nearly 2,000 applications within hours of the online booking portal opening at 9am, according to company officials. The centres replace in-person services previously offered at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of India in Dubai.

Mohammed Haris, Chairman and Founder of Al Group of Companies, said the strong turnout reflected pent-up demand from the Indian diaspora in the UAE, which numbers approximately 4.39 million people and represents nearly 38 per cent of the country's total population. The community has nearly doubled from 2.2 million in 2012, underscoring the need for expanded consular infrastructure.

Legal hurdles cleared days before launch

The centres opened after the Supreme Court of India on July 21 stayed a Delhi High Court ruling that had threatened to derail the transition. The High Court had quashed the Ministry of External Affairs' tender process on July 15, citing arbitrariness and lack of transparency in the technical evaluation for outsourcing services at Indian missions in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Singapore and Canberra. The Supreme Court allowed the Ministry to proceed with interim arrangements while legal proceedings continue.

Al Hind Tours & Travels, founded in Kerala in 1992 and operating in the UAE since 1995, won the contract on April 21 after submitting the lowest financial bid of Dh19 per application in a tender process that drew more than 15 international companies. The company has grown into a global network with over 130 branches worldwide.

The new operator replaces BLS International, which had processed passport and visa applications in the UAE since 2011, and SGIVS Global, which managed document attestation services since 2013. In October 2025, BLS International was barred by India's Ministry of External Affairs from bidding in future government tenders for two years following allegations, court cases and applicant complaints.

Flagship centre handles 600 daily applications

The largest facility, located at UW Mall in Bur Dubai, features 70 service counters and can process around 600 applicants daily. The second-largest centre operates in Dubai Investment Park. Combined, the 16 centres have capacity to handle up to 8,000 applications per day once fully operational, with approximately 350 employees recruited to staff the network.

Officials said the application process takes around 30 minutes for applicants who arrive with required documents. Appointment slots are released twice daily at 9am and 9pm through the online booking system, an improvement over the previous arrangement where slots were released during narrow windows between 9am to 9:30am and 6pm to 6:30pm for one week at a time.

Applicants pay a flat Dh19 service charge in addition to government fees. Haris said this covers photograph services, photocopying, printing, form-filling assistance and other application support that applicants previously paid for separately. The centres offer no premium services, with all applicants receiving identical service levels in line with Government of India policy.

The centres, open from 8am to 6pm, handle passport applications, visa services, attestation, OCI-related services and other Indian consular functions. Indian nationals no longer need to visit diplomatic missions in Abu Dhabi or Dubai to submit these applications.